## Chapter 159 – Kobolds and the Underground Labyrinth
Our battle cries intersect.
I deliberately shouted as loudly as possible. Kobolds perceive the world through hearing and smell, not sight. What must I look like to them right now?
A human smaller than them?
Or a being as immense as that roar?
Either way, the Guardian charged at me. Protecting the Queen, it wouldn’t matter what kind of enemy I was. It simply crossed its chained arms to protect its vitals and initiated a body slam.
ㅡKYUOOOOOOOT!!
“Nimble footwork!!!!”
But I wasn’t about to take that attack head-on.
Using my momentum, I threw myself to the side, rolling to evade. Of course, that wouldn’t work on a creature that perceives the world through sound. It braked sharply, twisting its waist and swinging its arm. ㅡAt the same time, I leaped to my feet.
With the monster exposing its upper body, now was the perfect time to strike. Gaining momentum, I soared up and thrust my sword.
ㅡTHWACK!
Blood splattered.
ㅡKYUOOOOOOOOOOK!
The blade pierced through flesh and tore through its innards. Did I win? “Haha…!” The thrill of killing a being larger than myself coursed through my body. In that moment, drunk on victory, laughter burst out.
ㅡWHACK!
The Guardian, impaled through the abdomen, swung its arm like a whip. It got a hole punched through its gut and it’s still reacting like this…? A split-second decision. I released the sword and raised my gauntlet-protected forearms to block the attack. Evading was impossibleㅡ
“ㅡKAH?!”
An unbelievable impact slammed into my forearms! CRASH! I flew several meters, tumbling across the floor. Ah, goddamn…! That fucking hurt!
It didn’t go down after getting stabbed? Such willpower for a kobold! Thump, thump, thump! Even while spewing blood, it was charging at me to kill me.
“You son of a bitch…”
I suppressed the pain.
The approaching monster raised its fist like a hammer.
If I got hit by that, I wouldn’t even be able to gather my bones.
ㅡWHAM!
The fist slammed into the ground like a thunderbolt, kicking up dust. I rolled to evade the attack and tried to dash to retrieve my sword. However.
ㅡKYUWAAAAAAAT!!!
“You little shit!”
It seemed to anticipate my action, blocking my path.
Does it know? The concept of weapons?
…At this rate, I wouldn’t be able to retrieve my sword.
“Please, just let it go. I was wrong. Okay?”
Panicked, I gritted my teeth and tried to negotiate. This thing was smart. There was no way it wouldn’t understand human speech.
“Ah! You cowardly bastard! Give me back my sword!”
With the bastard sword that had always protected me gone from my hand, I was going insane. I grew extremely anxious, and cold sweat broke out. In an instant, an ominous future unfolded before me.
Fight that behemoth without a sword?
Impossible even if I died and came back to life!
“Give me back my sword, you son of a biiiiitch!!”
Then I had to defeat it and retrieve my sword!
“UAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”
I roared in a frenzy. Transcendental fear engulfed my body, and an unbelievable, manic impulse surged from within. Right now!!!! If I didn’t kill it and find my sword!!!! Not only me, but everyone would die!!!!!!
“KIM KATT DROP KIIIIIIICK!!!!!”
Gathering all the potential within my body, I delivered a dropkick. ㅡTHWACK! The Guardian, clutching its abdomen, blocked my kick with only one arm. Kicks don’t work after all… Then!
ㅡIn the frozen moment, I search for what I can do now. It’s impossible to retrieve the sword right now. But I can’t wait for it to collapse from blood loss, there are too many enemies.
Most of the kobolds were focused on Claudie, who was currently wreaking havoc, but I didn’t know how long she could last with her mana depleted. I couldn’t waste time… I had to kill it as soon as possible!
Emotions burning with fear!
They whispered to me what I could do now to survive! Taekwondo honed to the limit. The Master-level skills of Siljang Kwonbeop. And the Demonic Cult’s most terrifying secret martial art, the Cheonma Shin’gong!
ㅡKYUOOOOOSSAAAAAAAA!
“Kuh-ahhhhhhhh!”
The frozen time began to flow again.
ㅡWHACK!
The Guardian’s arm swept across the ground.
Its movements were slower than before. Even so, it had a hole punched through its gut. It seemed like the aftereffects were kicking in. Blood poured out like a fountain due to the abdominal pressure, and its intestines were on the verge of spilling out.
ㅡKYUUUU…!
Even so, its body seemed sturdy.
To be able to stand even in such a messed-up state…
Was this… was this the difference in overwhelming size? Had my enemies always felt this way when fighting me?
I felt a newfound respect for the small-fry monsters.
To small, weak goblins or kobolds, I must have seemed like such a huge and powerful being.
“If that’s the case.”
But those small monsters always lunged at me to kill me. Despite the overwhelming difference in size. Just like a wild beast, sinking its teeth into the enemy’s neck!
That was what a monster was!
“I will become a monster.”
I plant my feet. I walk slowly… and.
I run.
“JUWAAAAAAAAAAK!!!”
The Kobold Guardian’s muscles seemed as solid as a brick wall. In fact, my kicks didn’t work at all, and even though it had a sword stuck in its gut, it continued to fight toughly.
It was, yes. I hate to admit it.
A macho.
ㅡKYUOOOOOOOOO!!
The macho tried to land a blow on me. But its balance was off. I dodged it easily and landed a punch on its relatively weak flank. “Kyu-ek!” The monster screamed.
“Come on, you macho.”
And then, a mythical exchange unfolded. I landed a punch, I planted a kick. It attacked me, completely abandoning its defense. I calmly dodged and blocked those countless blows, but I couldn’t evade them all.
“Keuh!”
An arm wrapped in chains slammed into my chest. I was knocked back by the impact, rolling about three times on the ground. If I hadn’t been wearing armor, my heart would have been crushed along with my ribs, and I would have died.
“…Can I not win?”
The Guardian, with its guts spilling out, approached me, kneeling, like a prophet foretelling the end. It didn’t care about its own life. Rather, it was trying to eliminate me, the intruder, even if it meant burning its own life away.
“This me.”
ㅡGrind!
My teeth ground together.
No matter how much you train your body, a bare-handed human can’t defeat a monster. There was a difference from the structure of the muscles to the durability of the body. That’s why humans took up weapons. Because they couldn’t defeat monsters otherwise.
I don’t have a weapon right now.
Even though I desperately tried to find an opening to retrieve my sword, the Guardian’s marking was so thorough that I couldn’t.
All I can do now is attack with my body.
ㅡKYUOOOOOOOOO!!
“Keuh!”
Hoegwangbanjo (回光返照). They say that a candle burns brightest just before it goes out. The Guardian was about to burn out all of its life’s candle. ㅡWHAM! ㅡWHANG! Its arm, using overwhelming weight, felt like a huge log.
ㅡKYUOOOOOOOOOOKㅡ!!!!!!!
The berserk monster’s movements grew faster and faster. I could barely block the attacks with my armor and gauntlets. Even in the meantime, Claudie, Winia, and Elise were putting up a difficult fight.
I have to do something…!
“You son of a bitch!”
I barely evaded the onslaught of attacks and punched the exposed intestines.
ㅡKYUEEEEEK!
“How’s that taste!”
I couldn’t overwhelm it with my Gwon’gaksul. Taekwondo, Siljang Kwonbeop. Cheonma Shin’gong. It was all fucking useless. Fucking shit martial arts, fuck. I can only curse because it’s so frustrating.
I only regret not bringing two weapons.
For reference, I put the knife in the bag I took off earlier.
I used my primal weapons, my arms and legs, to fight the berserk Guardian.
“Haha! What’s wrong! Are you tired already!”
After about two more minutes of back-and-forth, the Guardian’s movements noticeably slowed. The berserk time was over. Its complexion, gasping for breath, was as pale as a drowned corpse. Looking around, the spilled blood had formed a river.
A rampage in exchange for blood.
If it couldn’t defeat me within that time, it had no chance of winning!
“You’ve lost too much blood.”
In fact, Taekwondo is a martial art with little practical use.
The same goes for Siljang Kwonbeop used by Siljangseok.
The Cheonma Shin’gong, which can’t even be activated without internal energy, is also the same.
I regret training myself to the limit in these fucking useless martial arts.
“But.”
What if I could combine those three martial arts into one? And if I could unleash the strongest Gwon’gaksul? Then wouldn’t I be able to beat up a dogshit Kobold Guardian that’s groaning from excessive bleeding with ease?
ㅡTHWACK!
I started fighting again. No. It was no longer a fight. The monster’s movements had become too slow. The arm wrapped in chains couldn’t reach me, and my punches ravaged the wounded monster’s body.
ㅡKYUOOOOOO!
The Guardian howled the moment I landed the finishing blow. ㅡAt the same time, a kind of transcendental inspiration was transmitted through my fist…. This vibration. This impact…!
This feeling!
The ‘clue’ was within reach!
“Extend your leg.”
ㅡWhoosh!
A flowing, natural kick is Taekwondo.
“Throw a punch.”
ㅡBoong-boong!
A violent punch like a child’s stubbornness is Siljang Kwonbeop.
And.
“Cheonma Shin’gong.”
Cheonoecheon (天外天) of Mugong (武功).
“Rear Naked Choke.”
I pounced on the monster that staggered back from my barrage. Jumping like a moth taking flight, I clung to its body, crawling and grabbing its back. ㅡKyuuu… The exhausted monster couldn’t even shake me off, and collapsed, unable to bear the weight.
“I am the Fist King (拳王).”
The rear naked choke is a forbidden technique that strangles the flow of blood to the carotid artery with a choke derived from muscle, leading the opponent to death.
“Kattouda.”
Having gained a transcendental understanding of ‘Fist (拳)’, ‘Leg (脚)’, and ‘Body (身)’ from the battle just now, I used that feeling to strangle the Guardian’s neck.
ㅡKyut, Kyugyut…!
Blood gushing out.
Intestines and blood all spilled out. It was impossible to resist in that state. If I had a sword, I could have killed it more easily, but thanks to losing the sword, I gained enlightenment and became the Fist King.
“Rest. Loyal bodyguard of the Queen.”
ㅡKyuuu…
“You did your job.”
The monster’s trembling body went limp.
“It’s just that I was too strong.”
…It had met its death.
In the first place, getting stabbed in the gut was too much.
Since it failed to defeat me within the berserk time, defeat was inevitable.
Leaving the monster’s corpse, I looked around the arena. This place had already become Futaba Park with three skulls, which the abusers had once swept through. Scattering blood mist, severed limbs. Profuse death.
A group of nearly a hundred kobolds was slaughtered by three women.
ㅡChwajak! Claudie, who had slowed down to the point where I could follow her movements with my eyes, cut down a kobold, and ㅡThwack! Elise, bursting into maniacal laughter, swung her flail with holy light covering her entire body.
What about Winia? She was also fighting hard, but her mana would have a limit.
I retrieved the sword.
Courage surged from the handle.
Power boiling from within!
“I am!!!!”
There were still dozens of kobolds left. All the Guardians that had appeared were all dead. All that remained were about ten Kobold Warriors and dozens of Workers.
“Fist King Kattoudaaaaa!!!!!!”
When I roared like a lion using the brutal singing technique, all eyes in the arena were focused on me. A momentary gap was created. I rushed towards it.
“Kkieeeeeeeeeee!!!”
The Fist King has no fear.
Because I have comrades I believe in! Looking around, there were no more reinforcements of kobolds. Then our side, with one more overwhelming force, was absolutely advantageous!
As if to prove it, when I went into the middle of the kobolds and swung my sword, I could see that the kobolds, who had been fighting separately until then, were unable to do anything.
“Claudie! Elise! Winia! Activate the power of friendship!”
“That darkie is being crazy again! Sister! Now is our chance! Hurry to the Queen!”
The monsters that were fighting Claudie rushed at me. I heard Winia’s shout, and Claudie would go to cut down the Queen.
“I’ll cut them all up, dejiyaaaaaat!!!”
I unleashed a heel wind to create a storm of blades to clear the way. The maniacally soaring courage gave strength to my muscles! There is no such thing as impossible for me, who has awakened as the Fist King!
ㅡClang!
ㅡClang Clang Clang!!!
Then I heard the sound of chains.
ㅡKYUUUUUUUUUU!!!!
And the Queen roared.
“Shit!”
